Farm labour: $2 million long-term ag workforce plan still under wraps

A $2 million plan to solve agriculture’s workforce shortage long-term has yet to be released publicly, as the labour crisis continues to worsen.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud. Picture: Sam Mooy/Getty Images

A NATIONAL plan to tackle agriculture’s long-term worker shortage remains under wraps despite being handed to Agriculture Minister David Littleproud two months ago.

Almost $2 million was set aside in last year’s budget to develop the national agriculture workforce strategy, with an 11-member panel — including migration policy expert John Azarias and former Nationals MP John Williams — tasked to develop the plan.

The panel’s report was handed to the Government at the end of October but it has yet to be made public; meanwhile the nation’s harvest worker shortage continues to worsen.

“A whole-of-government response will go to cabinet in the new year as there are multiple agencies involved, not just agriculture,” Mr Littleproud said.

It comes amid renewed calls within the Coalition for a dedicated agriculture visa to help address the worker shortage, after a parliamentary inquiry recommended such a visa was needed if the sector was to reach its ambition of $100 billion value by 2030.

Mr Littleproud told The Weekly Times he would recommit to pursuing an ag visa, however “with the reopening of the seasonal and Pacific worker programs specifically for agriculture, the Government has effectively provided an ag visa albeit under these programs”.

“We will now however work with the new Immigration Minister (Alex Hawke) around workforce issues which will include agricultural workforce issues,” he said.

Industry has argued agriculture needs a purpose-built visa, as opposed to the seasonal worker program which is primarily a humanitarian aid program.